The transformative aspect of real estate development is mostly a fiction reserved for florid marketing brochures and breathless sales pitches; “cutting edge” and “a new way of living” are almost always cookie-cutter replicas of the same old thing. Or so it was until Woodward’s opened its doors last September.
The most complicated and ambitious development in Vancouver’s civic history – reimagining, in one bold stroke, the Downtown Eastside – consists of more than one million square feet of mixed-use space: for residents, businesses, bureaucrats and students; and for rich, middle-class and poor. Some critics have called Woodward’s a big gamble for developer Ian Gillespie and his company, Westbank Projects; others, more charitably, call it a bold social experiment. The full truth won’t be known for several years, perhaps decades, but there are many early signs of promise: a complete sellout of the 536 market condo units, an already bustling retail cluster (which includes JJ Bean, London Drugs and Nester’s – the Downtown Eastside’s first grocery store in 15 years) and glowing national and international media attention.
Surrounding blocks are now being referred to, by business owners and real estate agents alike, as the “Woodward’s District.” “Woodward’s is going to do great things for everyone involved: for the area, for the industry and for Westbank,” predicts one of our panellists. “Bravo to Ian Gillespie and crew for pulling it off.”
